Apparatus for automatic document feeding

ABSTRACT

A document input device having a gravity feed paper tray is adapted such that the separator pad is mounted on the base, as opposed to the cover, so that when the cover is opened to access the paper path (as during clearing of a paper jam), paper in the paper tray is held in place by the force of the separator pad against the pick roller, even though the cover is open. The separator pad may be attached to a rod that is attached to the base so as to permit the rod and separator pad to remain in place when the cover is in the open position. A leaf spring may be placed between the rod and the separator pad for biasing the separator pad against the pick roller. Also, the cover may include a spring for biasing the separator pad against the pick roller when the cover is in the closed position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of Provisional application No. 61/017,060 filed Dec. 27, 2007, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically feeding documents into a scanner, copy machine, fax machine, or the like and, more particularly, to a gravity loaded, motor-fed automatic document feeder having a pick roller and separator pad designed to hold the document sheets in place in the paper tray when the device is opened to address a paper jam or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an automatic document feeder mounted to a document input device such as a scanner, copy machine, or fax machine that is designed to convey documents or paper into the document input device. Generally, the invention relates to gravity loaded, motor fed automatic document feeders that include input document trays at an acute angle to the horizontal whereby the force of gravity feeds the documents into a motorized picker mechanism that picks a single sheet from the input tray for scanning, copying, faxing or the like. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art scanner 100 having a gravity loaded, motor fed automatic document feeder mechanism. In FIG. 1, the cover 102 is open to expose the pick roller 104 that is attached to the base 106 of the scanner 100. The paper tray 108 is an extension of the base 106 of the scanner 100. In the prior art embodiment of FIG. 1, a portion of the cover 102 is cutaway to show a pad separator 110 that is mounted on the inside of cover 102 of the scanner 100 so that, when the cover 102 is closed, the pad separator 110 may function to apply sufficient force to work in conjunction with the pick roller 104 to pick a single document sheet from the documents in the paper tray 108. The selected document is then fed over the platen/sensors 112 by the pick roller 104 for scanning, copying, faxing, and the like.

Unfortunately, automatic document feeders jam from time to time. For example, if the pad separator 110 and pick roller 104 select two or more documents instead of one, or if the selected document is askew or has folds, one or more of the documents may jam in the device, causing a malfunction. The user then must open the cover 102 to clear the document jam. In devices of the type illustrated in FIG. 1, the user must remember to first remove the document sheets from the paper tray 108 before opening the cover 102 to clear the paper jam. If the user does not remove the document sheets from the paper tray 108 before opening the cover 102 to clear the paper jam, then, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the document sheets in the input tray will fall down into the paper path over the platen/sensors 112, which complicates the clearing of the paper jam. Also, if the document tray is designed to hold documents of different sizes, this problem becomes particularly aggravating as the user will have to sort the documents and reload the input tray once the paper jam is cleared.

Prior art document feeders of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 prevent the documents in the paper tray 108 from falling into the paper path when the cover 102 is closed because the separator pad 110 rests on the pick roller 104 to apply sufficient force to hold the documents in place. However, when the cover 102 is opened to clear the paper jam, the separator pad 110 is removed from the pick roller 104 and the paper 200 drops down into the paper path over the platen/sensors 112. Further jams may occur if the cover 102 is not completely closed, as the separator pad 110 would not apply sufficient force against the pick roller 104 to hold the documents in place in the paper tray 108.

The present invention addresses this problem in the art by providing a design whereby the documents in the paper tray do not fall into the paper path when the cover of the scanner, copy machine, or fax device is opened, as when clearing a paper jam.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A document input device, such as a scanner, copy machine, or fax machine, having a gravity feed paper tray is adapted to address the afore-mentioned problems in the prior art devices by mounting the separator pad on the base, as opposed to the cover, so that when the cover is opened to access the paper path (as during clearing of a paper jam), paper in the paper tray is held in place by the force of the separator pad against the pick roller, even though the cover is open. The separator pad may be attached to a rod that is attached to the base so as to permit the rod and separator pad to remain in place when the cover is in the open position. A leaf spring may be placed between the rod and the separator pad for biasing the separator pad against the pick roller. Also, the cover may include a spring for biasing the separator pad against the pick roller when the cover is in the closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the side view cross-section of a prior art scanner with the cover open.

FIG. 2 shows the prior art scanner of FIG. 1 opened so as to illustrate that the documents in the paper tray fall into the paper path after the cover is opened.

FIG. 3 shows the scanner of the present invention with the cover closed.

FIG. 4 shows a side view cross-section of the scanner of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows the scanner of FIG. 3 with the cover open to expose the pick roller and pad separator.

FIG. 6 shows the scanner of FIG. 3 opened so as to illustrate that the documents in the paper tray are held in place even after the cover is opened.

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the scanner of FIG. 3 oriented so as to better illustrate the pad separator design of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of FIG. 7 so as to further illustrate the relationship between the pick roller and the pad separator design of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

A detailed description of illustrative embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3-8. Although this description provides a detailed example of possible implementations of the present invention, it should be noted that these details are intended to be exemplary and in no way delimit the scope of the invention.

Generally, though not exclusively limited thereto, the invention described herein is applicable to document input devices that are small enough to be used on a desktop and that are generally gravity loaded, motor fed input devices that may be opened to expose the paper path of the documents. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the document input device may be used with a scanner, a copy machine, a fax machine, and the like. Such devices are referred to herein interchangeably as a “scanner” or a “document input device.” Either term is intended to encompass any device that inputs paper or paper documents into a device for processing in some fashion.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a scanner 300 designed in accordance with the present invention. The scanner 300 has a cover 302 that is closed so that it covers the paper path during use. The paper path is the path that the paper takes from the paper tray 304 to the exit area 306. In this view, the paper path is not visible.

FIG. 4 shows a side view cross-section of the scanner 300. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the pick roller 308 is attached to the base 310 of the scanner 300 in such a way that an internal motor can rotate the pick roller 308 in direction 312 using an internal gear assembly. The separator pad 314 is attached to a rod 316 that is, in turn, attached to the base 310 of the scanner 300. For the purposes of this description, the term “separator pad” is used to denote any pliable structure that exerts pressure onto the pick roller 308 to assist in separating a single document from the document stack. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the base 310 of the scanner 300 comprises those parts of the scanner 300 that are not part of the cover 302 but that are necessary for the scanner's operation. For example, the base 310 houses a motor that drives the pick roller 308 through some arrangement of gears. The motor is connected to a power supply and a microcontroller that controls the pick roller 308 and the other parts of the scanner 300 as known in the art. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the separator pad 314 is attached to the base 310 using rod 316 as opposed to the cover 302 and, accordingly, remains in place when the cover 302 is opened. The separator pad 314 is also placed so that when the cover 302 is closed the separator pad 314 has its end opposite the rod 316 rest on the pick roller 308.

The document feeder of the scanner 300 functions in the following way. Paper is placed on the paper tray 304 so that it rests on the pick roller 308. To take one sheet of paper, the pick roller 308 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 312. This rotation moves the paper through the paper path 318 towards the exit area 306. The force applied against the pick roller 308 by separator pad 314 functions to separate the paper in the paper tray into a single sheet for feeding into the paper path 318. As the paper passes through the paper path 318, the paper is scanned, copied, or faxed depending upon the selected function of the scanner 300.

FIG. 5 shows the scanner 300 with the cover 302 open to expose the paper path 318, as when the scanner 300 is opened to clear a paper jam As illustrated, the pick roller 308 is attached to the base 310 of the scanner 300. In distinction from the prior art document input device of FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment the separator pad 314 is also attached to the base 310 by rod 316 via rod supports 320 and 322. As illustrated, the separator pad 314 is firmly attached to rod 316 at 324. As illustrated in FIG. 6, because the separator pad 314 rests on the pick roller 308 even when the cover 302 is open, the paper 200 in the paper tray stays in place even when the cover 302 is open, thereby preventing further paper jams and inconvenience to the user.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, metal leaf springs may be mounted to the rod 316 at 324 adjacent to the separator pad 314 such that the spring runs in parallel to the separator pad 314 and provides extra support for the paper to stay in the paper tray by biasing the separator pad 314 against the pick roller 308.

Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cover 302 of the scanner 300 may contain springs 700 that exert pressure onto the separator pad 314 when the cover 302 is closed. In this embodiment, the separator pad 314 keeps the paper in place when the cover 302 is open yet does not permit the scanner, copier, fax, or the like to function until the cover 302 is closed. When the cover 302 is closed, the springs 700 on the cover 302 exert extra pressure on the separator pad 314 to improve its document feeding properties. Thus, closing the cover 302 reformulates the separator pad 314 so that it functions similarly to prior art sensor pads of the type illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and that are mounted in the cover. A sensor device (not shown) may also be included that senses sufficient closure of the cover 302 to enable operation of the scanner, copier, fax, or the like.

The scanner 300 of the present invention has the advantage that when the cover 302 is opened while paper is in the paper tray 304, the paper does not fall into the paper path 318. This is important, because when a paper jam occurs the user needs to open the cover of the scanner 300 to remove the paper jam. If this happens when some paper is still in the paper tray, the paper is held up because the separator pad 314 remains in contact with the pick roller 308. This is particularly convenient for the user when the paper tray 304 is adapted to include an insert 702 (FIGS. 7 and 8) that accommodates the feeding of documents of different sizes into the paper path 318.

Those skilled in the art also will readily appreciate that many additional modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiment without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention. For example, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a stronger leaf spring could be used to hold the separator pad 314 in place on the rod 316 so that no spring 700 in the cover 302 would be needed. In such case, a sensor for sensing that the cover 302 is open would be desirable in order to prevent the scanning, copying, and/or fax function from operating unless the cover 302 is sufficiently closed. Accordingly, any such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined by the following exemplary claims.

What is claimed: 

1. A document input device comprising: a base having a gravity feed paper tray; a motorized pick roller mounted to the base for feeding paper from the paper tray through a paper path; a cover attached to the base, the cover having a closed position for covering the paper path when the document input device is in use and an open position as when needed to clear a paper jam; and a separator pad attached to the base and having one end in contact with the pick roller to control the feeding of paper, wherein the separator pad remains in contact with the pick roller when the cover is in the open position so as to prevent paper in the paper tray from falling into the paper path when the cover is in the open position.
 2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the separator pad is attached to a rod which is attached to the base and wherein the rod and separator pad remain in place when the cover is in the open position.
 3. The input device according to claim 2, further including a spring between the rod and the separator pad for biasing the separator pad against the pick roller.
 4. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the spring is a leaf spring.
 5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the cover comprises a spring for biasing the separator pad against the pick roller when the cover is in the closed position. 